ahead this morning the virginia general assembly approves historic legislation. a break down of transportation reform at the commonwealth. a mad dash to clean up the mess less than 24 hours of a horrific crash. nos car is scurrying to get the track ready for today's daytona 500. it is oscar night. who will and who should win big. movie critic kevin mccarty will tell us his picks. we have a lot to get to today. including a new cloud of controversy hanging over the vatican as the archbishop of

washington heads to rome. we have seen the rainy weather hanging around a little bit. a little bit of rise in the mercury as well. >> we are finally going to get rid of some of the clouds and get back to sunshine. you are right, temperatures are definitely on the rise. let's take a look at our maps. we do have clouds this morning and a little bit of patchy fog as well around the area. some of you dealing with a lot of reduced visibilities. do be careful out there. a little bit of light shower has moved its way into del mar. you might see a sprinkle or two. but nothing that is going to last. we are headed for bright skies. here's a look at the current temperatures. 43 degrees at reagan national airport. 41 at dallas. 42 degrees at fredericksburg. for today 51 degrees our day- time high. the clouds out of the way. we are talking mostly sunny by

this afternoon. brace yourself. hang on to your hat we have gusty winds that will be coming in. moving in from the northwest. the sun definite returns. some changes coming up in my seven-day forecast. back to you. >> i'll take that sun. thanks. well new this morning. a deadly shooting in tacoma park, maryland. police got a call about shots fired in the area of flower avenue just before 2:00 a.m.. when officers arrived they found two men lying in a driveway. both have since died. so far no motive or suspects. the daytona 500 will go on as scheduled. less than 24 hours after that horrific crash. nascar officials are still cleaning up the mess left behind when a car flew into a fence during a race and that sent tires and large pieces of debris into the stands. 33 people were injured. fox's rick has the latest. >> keselowski 22.

>> reporter: scary moments in daytona beach after a multicar crash occurred near the end of the nationwide race. several cars were jostling for speed when they got tied up. >> we transported 24 people off property and treated 14 people at our on track care center. we're in the process of repairing the facility and ready to go racing tomorrow. >> reporter: it was apparently triggered when smith tried to block keselowski's car. his car went airborne and erupted into flames. several suspect traitors got injured. some seriously. the accident spread into the upper deck and emergency crews treated both fans. >> this kind of racing you know produces close tight racing. and that kind of stuff happens a lot on the last lap. so it wasn't a surprise. >> reporter: nascar officials

are carefully examing the video. and shows safety is ever evolving. >> we will review ourselves in terms of where the debris flew. >> reporter: tony stewart won the race but was in no mood to celebrate. skipping the post race festivities. >> here's another look at the accident. shot from the stands at daytona international speedway. you can see the car going up into the fence. debris flying toward the spectators. the tire is in the middle of the stands. fans immediately called for paramedics to help among the chaos. turning now to local politics. virginia general assembly ended its latest session by passing the two largest measures. the state budget and landmark transportation funding. the package will raise $880 million for road construction. maintenance and transit.

audrey barnes breaks down the measure. it's being called the most significant package for virginia since 1986 when lawmakers agree to raise the gas tax. they replace the per gallon gas tax with a 3.5% tax on gas at the wholesale level and 6% wholesale tax on diesel fuel. the state tax will increase from 5% to 5.3% and the motor vehicle sales tax will rise from 3% to 4.3%. >> it's a major step forward. obviously to really deal with the problem that has built up over the last 27 years we will have to continue to address the issue. >> reporter: in a statement governor bob mcdonald calls this a historic day. we have worked together across party lines to find common ground and pass the first sustainable long-term transportation funding in 27 years mcdonald says. when it's fully phased in, the

reform bill will raise more than $500 million to erase the maintenance budget deficit and fund new roads and mass transit and provide more money for hampton roads and northern virginia. >> there is a whole wide range of products. the key is though they have to reduce congestion and they have to be on a regional plan. >> reporter: stewart is cautiously optimistic. >> we need to insure we are fixing you know congestion and i-66 and investing in the route one corridor. >> reporter: audrey barnes fox 5 news. the only one that passed was a modest increase in the penalty for so-called straw purchases of firearms. bans on assault style rifles and large capacity ammunition magazines were rejected. the virginia railway express is holding pub lib hearings on a proposed 4% fair

increase. there will be one more 7th in stafford and march 27th in fredericksburg. the increase use would offset the increase in cost. if approved the increase would take effect in july. the nation's governors are gathering in d.c. for their annual winter meeting. democratic governor jack is the chairman of the national governors association. he and other state leaders are discussing many issues including the economy and ways to try to improve it. >> when barriers present a significant segment of our population from participating in the work force, talent is being wasted and our economic peltiveness suffers. >> governors are also discussing gun control the new health care law, and looming budget cuts that are urging lawmakers to do something to avoid the march 1st deadline.

secretary of state will be on his first official trip overseas. he will make a stop in london england. the main objective is to bring new ideas to capitols in europe and the middle east and discuss solutions to try to end the ongoing violence in syria and mali and afghanistan. this will be a very busy sunday for cardinal donald. he will celebrate a mass for son tiff kit of pope benedict xvi. then around 2:00 he will catch a flight to rome where he will take part in selecting the next pope. pope benedict held his final sunday blessing this morning. he will only have one scheduled appearance before he retires on thursday. this all comes as the italian media now reporting a whirlwind

of controversy surrounding his historic resignation. >> reporter: pope benedict xvi praying with cardinals. outside that spiritual haven a storm is brewing. the vatican is lashing out at the italian media for a string of what they call quote defamatory false reports. >> it is deplorable as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave and the cardinal electors will be held in conscious and before god to freely indicate their choice that there be a wide spread distribution of often unverifiable or completely false news stories. >> reporter: italian newspapers have suggested a secret dossier prepared by the pope and three cardinals. the report lists a series of scandals involving sex, money, and power. and suggesting a shadowy gay

lobby. the content of the dossier is what caused pope benedict to resign. >> this is not about suing and legal action. it's a call to truthfulness and authenticity of the journalism profession. >> reporter: the pope said he doesn't have quote the strength of mind and body to continue his role. the next will still have to navigate a mindfield of controversy. includes sex abuse within the church. >> i will say you can't eventualize if the house is not in order. >> that was molly reporting. the three cardinals that investigated the leak documents are expected to meet with pope benedict tomorrow. voting is under way in parliament that could shape the future of one of europe's biggest economies. italians are unhappy with austerity measures that pulled

the country from its debt crisis. moving on to libya. the white house has agreed to give the senate intelligence committee documents related to the attack in benghazi. it includes e-mails among top security officials kiss cussing how to describe the attack. the white house has said it already turned over more than 10,000 pages of documents including witness interviews, staff briefings, and hours of testimony. they are demanding the documents before voting on the nomination of john brennan for cia director. and we'll be right back. here you go little man.

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police have a suspect in that deadly soot shooting in las vegas. they are looking for 26-year- old lamar harris. police found harris' black range rover that they believe

was involved in a shooting. after a heated argument and car chase. he crashed his ma are da killing the driver and passenger inside. lawyers say carl pistorius the older brother is facing a homicide charge for a 2010 crash that killed a motorcyclist. he was due in court the same day that oscar pistorius faced a bail hearing. they are both camped out at their uncle's house. the olympian is charged with murder for killing his girlfriend reeva steenkamp on valentine's day. a baltimore county councilman is charged with driving under the influence and negligent driving. republican todd huff was arrested around 3:00 saturday morning. police say huff had a blood alcohol level of .20 which is more than twice the legal

limit. the report also shows he asked the arresting officer don't you know who i am? huff was elected to the council in 2010. it's your look at the new and noteworthy in the week ahead. it's your capitol rundown for the week of february 25th, 2013. on monday february 25th the u.s. supreme court hears arguments in the case ppl energy verses the internal revenue service. examing whether u.s. corporations can deduct foreign taxes. the justices convene at 10:00 a.m.. tuesday february 26th the house homeland security committee will hear testimony on security at u.s. borders and how to improve it. that is at 10:00 a.m. in room 311 of the cannon building. wednesday february 27th at the u.s. capitol the late civil hts become the first african

american woman ever honored with a statue in statue area hall. the unvailing begins at 11:00 a.m.. thursday february 28th the house committee on education and welfare holds hearings on school standards and whether schools are doing enough to measure teacher performance. that is at 9:00 a.m. in the ray burn building. and on friday march 1st at nasa headquarters. nasa advisory committee will hold hearings on the spread of unmanned aircraft systems by civilians in the united states. that is at 8:30 a.m.. that is your capitol run down for the week of february 25th. you can find more on myfoxdc.com and on twitter. i'm tom fitzgerald we'll see you next week.

as many of you know the oscars are tonight and for many people one of the highlights of the event is of course the fashion. so what will the actors and actresses be wearing in foxx's dominic has a fashion preview. >> reporter: styles are just hours away from walking the world's most important red carpet. >> go toward the new and toward the different. but you have to be careful you don't go over that line to fashionville. >> reporter: some of the ladies have been thinking about what to wear for weeks. others even longer. >> most little girls dream about their wedding dresses. i always dreamed about my oscar dress. >> this year i'm going with the idea of having fun and fulfilling the fantasy of going to the oscars. >> i definitely have ideas and cool options. >> last time was comfort. this year i'm like suck it up. so yeah. i'm going to go for fashion.

>> i love fashion that celebrates a woman's body. that maybe is a throw back to the glamour of old hollywood. that silhouette but making it modern. >> reporter: with a wide variety of anales and body styles viewers can relate easily. >> women do look at these and go i'm in my 60s and look how amazing she can look in a gown. or i'm tall like jennifer lawrence and look how beautiful she is. they will identify with these people. >> reporter: like most of the dresses are one of a kind and won't be for sale the knockoff will be in stores for a matter of days. >> if that chemistry hits the results of the designer is huge. it's huge. that dress itself may not sell because especially if other people won't buy it. the impact of that book of that silhouette of that style both

within the designer and other designs around the country will be enormous. >> reporter: in hollywood dominic. fox news. >> i don't know. i happen to love oscar night. >> i know it's exciting. you want to see what everybody is wearing. >> and of course the oscar predictions. everybody is talking about argo for best picture. >> yes canadian influence. >> so i don't know. do you make oscar predictions? >> i don't. i stay on the safe side. i look at them and keep my judgment to myself and watch and see as the mystery unfolds. >> we have all of our movie reviews on our website. you can stick to the weather prediction. >> i can. we have changes coming your way. some of them you may like. especially those that are tired of the dreary skies and rain. this morning we are starting out not only with some clouds, but also we are dealing with some patchy fog outside. so visibility is certainly reduced. do be careful if you're heading out to morning services or anything.

because you are certainly going to feel the impact of that. it should actually start to burn off pretty soon. it won't be all bad at all. here's a look at what we are talking about in terms of all that precipitation that left us. here's where it headed up the mid atlantic. boston, new york, new jersey ran into that colder air. so they ended up getting snow and freezing rain and sleet. and now just rain. they had a couple inches of snowfall in boston. i know they don't want to hear about anything more after all they have been through. we on the other hand a different story. here's a look at our current temperatures. 43 degrees at reagan national airport. 41 at dallas. 41 degrees at dwi. and we are going to be warming up today. temperatures have been below seasonal. yesterday the temperatures were two to five degrees below arch. today we will be warmer. now winds i'm showing because they are very calm right now. not a lot going on. that is about to change. we are looking at gusty winds

into the course of this afternoon. as i always say, it will be hang on to your hat weather. winds will push in from the northwest up to 30 miles an hour gusts are possible and that means we will feel probably a little bit of a windchill as well. that is a pretty brisk wind. your day planner for today sunny and windy. that says it all. midday we will be close to 37 degrees. our daytime high will be into the low 50s. that is not bad. and plus the sunshine which everybody will be looking forward to. >> yeah. i don't think i could basically live in chicago. because i personally cannot stand the wind. >> okay. >> i know you and i are fans of the d.c. restaurant scene. wonderful restaurants here in d.c.. d.c. is becoming a hot spot on the american foody scene. gq magazine has named one of the best fields in america from a restaurant here in d.c.. beth parker takes a look at it.

>> reporter: lincoln, jefferson, washington. they are the people who helped build the nation. now the nation's capitol is building into a foody frenzy. yes stodgy washington is developing some culinary cool. >> when i moved here it was steak houses and lobbyists. >> i think it gets stuffy at 5:00 and then everybody loosens up and has a drink and goes out. >> reporter: they don't just eat out they work for it. john is pretty close to the front of a very long winding line on 17th street. >> i want to say a show maybe. >> reporter: the destination is an ordinary gray door that is itching for a paint sign. there is no sign. >> also the service here is fantastic. >> reporter: it's called little

serras. northern thai food. in the case of little sarah no reservations to pull up a chair, bring your laptop and bring a wine bible. >> there is one course that was so spicey we were trickerying tears but it was so good we ha to keep eating more of it. >> reporter: tito lives up stair. >> it is kind of exciting. now it's at least for good food. >> reporter: wolf gang puck is a culinary king who brought his empire to d.c. in 2007. he says cooking shows and farmers marks has helped turn americans into smarter food consumers. >> they know about ingredients. they might not know how to cook it. they know what it should taste like. >> reporter: that lets the executive chef to serve up

adventurous dishes that the d.c. crowd might have cringed about. >> service career change. >> reporter: he did just fine. >> we are not yet obviously the level of new york, san francisco, or chicago or los angeles. once you get past those four cities, i think d.c. could hold its own with anyone. boston, philly, miami. >> reporter: you can see washington's culinary transformation from up here on a rooftop in northeast where what was old is new again. off florida avenue that was the old union terminal. as a chef here asked the same questions over and over. >> where do you get your meat? >> reporter: there are meats. >> some of the most phenomenal bacon in the country. chefs import this stuff. >> reporter: plus spices and

vegetables. >> we don't want to be a food court. we want experiences. as you travel throughout the market you hit the soda shop and you do a little bit of shopping. you can stop for a couple oysters. >> reporter: in for a treat. because these days it's not just politics that washington is serving up. beth parker fox 5 news. >> that is making me hungry. the clock is ticking until the automatic sequester budget cuts kick in. will there be a deal in place in time? and what exactly impact is there? we talk to two senators. director's voice: here we go. from the top. and action for over 75 years people have saved money with gecko so.... director's voice: cut it! ...what...what did i say? gecko? i said gecko? aw... for over 75 year...(laughs. but still trying to keep it contained) director's voice: keep it together. i'm good. i'm good. for over 75...(uncontrollable laughter). what are you doing there? stop making me laugh.